This time of year, those of us in the central and northern parts of the Sacramento Valley eagerly await the phenomenon of the Delta Breeze — a cooling wind that blows in from the coast and acts as a natural air conditioner, easing our temps out of the 100° F (37° C) range. It’s nearly always good news when the wind is from the south, while the north wind usually brings hot, dry, allergy-aggravating conditions to my area.

I just got back from five days in San Francisco, and even though the daily high temperature here at home is “only” in the high 90s, I already miss the cooling gusts of sea air that keep much of the Bay Area in the 60s and 70s. So when I spotted this episode of California’s Gold, I just had to share it. Wind can be a cooling friend, an uncomfortable annoyance, or even a destructive danger, but it’s a force of nature we all must learn to live with!

At first, it seems like a rather obscure subject, but after thinking about it, and especially after visiting these three locations, there’s no doubt about it — wind is a fine example of California’s Gold.

(Click on the linked image below to see the video.)